Monte Vista School Welcomes Guest Readers for Read Aloud Day

“The more that you read, the more things that you’ll know, the more that you know the more places you’ll go.” This inspirational quote from famed children’s author Dr. Seuss was the theme running through Monte Vista School’s Read Aloud Day.

Joining in the celebration of literacy and sharing the importance of reading were special guest readers who visited classrooms to read a book to the students. Guest readers included students from South El Monte High School (SEMHS), Monte Vista retirees, community members, parent volunteers, school personnel and Mountain View School District employees and board members.

“The kids are so adorable,” said Tiffany Olmos, a freshman at SEMHS. “It was a lot of fun reading to them and letting them know that reading is an important skill to have.”

The Read Aloud Day celebration is an annual event that staff and students look forward to. “We appreciate our reading volunteers participating in our Read Aloud Day,” said Roberto Lopez, Monte Vista principal. “It’s very impactful for our students when someone other than their teacher reads to them. It gives them an opportunity to see the important role reading has played in the lives of the readers. They also learn that reading is a fun hobby that many people enjoy.”

“I hope to get a job working with young kids,” said Alondra Flores, a senior at SEMHS. “This provided me experience interacting with the students and it was fun. They were a good audience and liked my book.”

MVSD superintendent, Lillian Maldonado French read “I, Doko” a story about the golden rule of treating others like you would like to be treated to seventh graders in Karyn Johnny’s class. Ms. French encouraged the students to dialog about the story and use higher level thinking to analyze the message.

“I really like our Read Aloud Day,” said a second grader eagerly waiting for Michael Coughlin, MVSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Business Services to read One Little Chicken. “It’s really fun to hear stories and have people visit our classroom.”

“I picked this book because it’s timely with the Mayoral race going on in Los Angeles the students are hearing a lot about it on the news and seeing the campaign commercials and I thought they’d like to learn a little more about it,” said Bailey.

Each guest reader presented the classroom they read in with a book which was purchased by the school. Students also created special thank you notes and certificates for the readers.